NIGEL BENN’S comeback fight against Sakio Bika is OFF after the British legend suffered a shoulder injury.
The former world middleweight and super-middleweight champion was due to return to the ring after a 23-year absence on November 23.
Benn, 55, had been building up to the fight with intense training camps but first felt issues in his shoulders last week.
And after admitting defeat, he told SunSport: “I have been dreaming of a one-off fight for years and I’m heartbroken I’ve had to call it off.”
Benn’s fight against Bika, the 40-year-old Cameroonian-Australian, was planned over 10 rounds at the Resort World Arena, Birmingham.
SunSport photographer Richard Pelham was in the Matchroom Boxing gym with Benn and his son Conor when it became clear Benn could not carry on.
Conor, 23, is the WBA Inter-Continental welterweight champion and unbeaten after his 16th win – a brutal KO of Steve Jamoye last Saturday night.
I’m heartbroken I’ve had to call it off
Nigel Benn
Benn Snr was ringside to witness it but now has been cruelly robbed of the chance to complete his dream return to the ring.
Fans had been worried about Benn’s comeback almost quarter of a century after his final bout.
But SunSport told you how former world heavyweight champ Frank Bruno backed his pal’s decision.
He said: “A lot of people have had their say on what Nigel is doing.
“But at the end of the day the only person that matters here is Nigel. He’s the one who has got to step up and fight and he has to make a decision based on how he feels.
“After he finished fighting I know Nigel found religion helped him and that was his focus.
“That replaced the day to day buzz of boxing. But there has always been that itch with Nigel and that belief he has one more fight left in him.
“That’s what this is all about. I just hope Nigel gets paid a load of money for the fight, comes through it safely and then it is out of his system.
“I know a lot of people are criticising his decision but I think Nigel might surprise everyone. He is still very fit, trains every day and has kept himself in amazing shape since he retired.
“I will be there supporting him and I just hope he comes through it.”
You can read the full, emotional Benn story in the SunSport newspaper pages tomorrow with more exclusive pictures of his final sparring rounds.
